Playpen



Aug. 9, 1932. A. G. FELDMAN 1,870,285

PLAYPEN Filed April 22, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Aug. 9, 1932ABRAHAM G. FELDMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS PLAYPEN Application filed April22, 1931. Serial No. 532,098.

My invention relates to nursery furniture articles of the typedesignated as play-yards, and more particularly to foldable articles ofthis type, and my main object is to provide a play-yard which isfoldable, yet in such a manner as to be very rigid when set up.

A further object of the invention is to design the novel play-yard withone pair of stationary walls on opposite sides, and an alternating pairof foldable walls between the stationary walls, such foldable wallsbeing single and rigid units in themselves.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple andstrong fitting relation between the foldable walls and the stationaryones. I

Another object of the invention-is to provide a securing connectionbetween the foldable walls and the stationary walls, which is on theexternal side of the play-yard and therefore not readily accessible tothe occupant thereof.

A significant object of the invention is to construct the novelplay-yard with a pcculiar hinge member for its foldable walls, whichrequires no stationary wall section for support.

A final but nevertheless important object of the invention is toconstruct the novel play-yard on lines of utmost simplicity and readyadaptability to any mode of ornamentation.

With the above objects in view and any others that may suggestthemselves from the specification and claims to follow, a betterunderstanding of the invention may be had by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of thenovel play-yard as set up;

Fig. 2 is a perspectivedetail of the zone of connection between thefoldable and stationary walls of the play-yard;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, and showing the parts in said zoneconnection;

Fig. i is a perspective view of one side of the play-yard showing one ofits stationmy walls, and portions of its floor and foldable walls adjacent thereto Fig. 5 is a face view of a bottom hinge;

6 is an end view of such hinge;

F g. 7 is a perspective view of a top hinge; 1g. 8 is a fragmentalelevation of a bottom omt, partly in section.

Fig. 9 is an edge view of the bottom of the plaiy-yard as viewed towarda foldable wall; an

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the playyard as folded.

In the field of foldable play-yards, one difficulty is the instabilityof the article when it is set up. Owing to the tendency to design theplay-yard so foldable that it may be collapsed into a compact form forminimum space in shipping and storing, insufficient provision has beenmade for rendering the playyard rigid and stable when set up. Thus, thestationary walls are rigid, but the foldable ones are shaky and loose,presenting an awkward appearance and being easily tampered with by theoccupant. Further, other elements in some play-yards, such as hinges,are improperly made or adjusted, making the handling of the play-yarddificult when setting up or folding the same, or inviting looseness anddisorder after a short period of use. It has therefore been my intentionto avoid the above dificulties by designing a playyard which fulfillsthe above objects to a highly satisfactory extent.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the stationary walls of theplay-yard are denoted by the numeral 15, and the foldable walls by thenumeral 16. with a floor 17 to form a box-like enclosure ofapproximately square form, the walls being made in the form of openrailings with panels 18 or other suitable ornamentation and toy units inthe form of beads 19 strung on rods 19. The panels and toy units arepreferably mounted on the stationary walls and it will be understoodthat the structure is susceptible of any type of ornamentation orembellishment, one such instance being a diamond figuring 17a on thefloor 17 in simulation of linoleum.

The novel play-yard is designed with its foldable walls hinged to one ofthe ends of the stationary walls, so that each of the foldable walls maybe swung inwardly as indicated by The walls unite between the foldablewalls 16, this arrangement being clearly shown in Fig. 10.

The stationary walls 15 are formed with top rails 15a and base rails15?), the latter be ing of greater width in an inward direction wherebyto permit the position of the foldable walls thereover when theplay-yard is collapsed, thus making room for the closing of the floorsection in turn. The foldable walls 16 have top rails 16a and similarbottom rails 16?).

To establish a top pivotal connection between either foldable wall andan adjacent stationary wall, I apply an ordinary hinge 20 by means ofscrews 20a inside the corner of the top rails 15a and 160:, At the bottom, however,the absence of a side rail in the wall 15 opposite thebottom rail 16b of the wall 16, requires the use of a special pivotmeans. This I provide in the form of a tall pivot screw 21 firmly driveninto the base rail 15b and having a loose washer 22 immediately underits head. Adjacent to the screw 21, I attach a plate 23 by means of ascrew 24 to the inner face of the bottom rail 16b of the foldable wall16, extending the plate over the shank of the screw with a semicircularbearing 23a closing over the screw shank and terminating with top andbottom spurs 23?) which sink into the surface of the rail 16?) as thescrew 21 is made fast to secure the plate against pivotal movement aboutthe screw 24, dispensing with a separate connection for this purpose.The bearing is preferably lined with grease, a suitable opening 23bbeing made in the plate 23 for the application of the grease. The twopivotal units just described are duplicated at the union of walls in thediagonally opposite corner of the play-yard.

In designing the foldable walls relative to the stationary ones, myintention is to have the top rails at an even level, yet to drop thefoldable walls no further than would space them somewhat above the baserails 15b and the floor 17. The spacing is ordinarily about aquarter-inch so as to assure sufficient clearance of the foldable wallswhen swung in or out, thus eliminating any stiffness in the folding orunfolding action and the scraping or marring of the figured floor. Owingto the support of a given foldable wall by the top hinge 20, the lowerpivot does not act as a support and the bearing plate 23 receives nostrain from the weight of the wall, enabling it to operate about thepivot screw 21 and next to the loose washer 22 with ease. The outersides of the floor sections 17 are hinged to the base rails 15b asindicated at 25.

With the hinge corners of the play-yard described, the connections ofthe outer ends of the foldable walls with the coresponding ends of thestationary walls will be taken up. Taking one zone of connection, itwill be noted in Figs. 8 that a vertical bottom cavity 160, is made nearthe end of the bottom rail 16!). When the latter closes over thecorresponding end of the base rail 15!), the cavity is adapted toreceive a post 150 erected upon such base rail, the foldable wall. beingslightly lifted to make this connection. At the top of the wall, therail 16a is made with a pro ecting stud 16d (Fig. 2) and the rail 15aopposite is drilled from the inside with a horizontal cavity 15d. Byslightly drawing the rail 15a over toward the rail 16a, the cavity 15dis caused to receive the stud 16d. Now a locking device is employed tojoin the walls against separation. This comprises a hook 26 pivotallyhung from a screw 27 driven into the outside of the rails 16a, thisscrew being adapted to swing over the shank 28a of a screw 28 driveninto the adjacent end of the rail 15a as the union of these rails iseffected in the manner previously explained. The completed connection isclearly shown in Fig. 3.

The simple connections between the free ends of the foldahle walls andthe corresponding ends of the stationary walls con tribute materially tothe stability of the play-yarc Thus, the connection of the post 150 andthe stud 16d locks the foldable wall both at the top and at the bottomfrom lateral movement; the connection of the stud 16d also prevents thefoldable wall from vertical deviation; and the connection of the hook 26prevents the separation of the walls. These factors are of greatimportance when it is considered that a play-yard is pulled or draggedon the floor from one place to another, and often together with theoccupant and other contents, such as toys. Invariably, the top railsreceive the strain of handling, and without firm connections theplay-yard would soon loosen in its joints or become shaky or wabbly. Itis significant that the connecting features just described are notspecial parts, tending to complicate the construction of the article,but rather the simplest parts imaginableand in keeping with thestructure itself. The hook connection 26 is on the outside of thefoldable wall and in a position to remote for tampering by the occupant.

It is thus seen that I have provided a play-yard of simple parts andstrong connections. The folding walls are single and entire units, sothat when the play-yard has been set up the folding walls are just asrigid as the stationary ones and the enclosure stands firmly and immuneto the abuses to which it is ordinarily subjected.

I claim:

1. A play-yard having stationary walls, walls adjoining and swingabletoward the stationary walls, meeting base rails of the related walls andsuperimposed at the origin of the swing, and pivot means between therails, said pivot means attaching to a horizontal face of one rail andthe adjacent vertical face of the companion rail.

2. The structure of claim 1, said rails being horizontal, a verticalpivot carried by said horizontal face, and a bearing engaging said 0stcarried by said vertical face.

3. A p lay-yard comprising substantiallyparallel stationary walls, anend wall in connection with the latter and swingable from one of them,and a connection between the free end of the swingable wall and thecorresponding end of the other stationary wall comprislng a dowel studprojecting from said free end, and said other wall bein made with acavity in its inner side to receive said dowel stud.

4. A play-yard comprising substantiallyparallel stationary walls, baserails forming part of the latter, an end wall in connection with saidstationary walls and swingable from one of them, and a connectionbetween the free end of the swingable wall and the corresponding end ofthe other stationary wall comprising a dowel stud erected on the baserail of said other wall, and said free end being made with a cavity inits bottom edge to receive said dowel stud.

5. A play-yard enclosure comprising stationary walls, inwardly extendedbase rails carried by the latter, and movable walls adjacent thestationary ones and foldable thereon to lie within the extended portionsof the base rails.

6. A play-yard comprising a. quadrilateral enclosure, one pair ofoppositely-arran ed walls being statlonary, and each of the ot er wallsbeing foldable from diagonally o posite corners of the enclosure and insingle form upon the adjacent stationary wall, and a floor comprised ofsections hinged to the stationary walls and to each other and foldablebetween the stationary walls.

7. A pla -yard enclosure comprising stationary wa ls movable wallsadjacent the latter, base rails for the walls, hinges between the upperportions of the stationary and movable walls to render the latterfoldable u n the stationary walls, such hinges suspen ing the movablewalls with their base rails freely above the base rails of thestationary walls, posts on the last-mentioned base rails directbelowsaid hinges, and means anchoring t e movable walls to said posts toconstitute the latter as pivots supplementing said hinges.

8. A pla -yard enclosure comprisin stationary wa ls, a bottom connectingthe batter, movable walls adjacent the stationary ones,

